Tennessee State University’s financials and corporate governance are under review by a former U.S. attorney hired by the Tennessee Attorney General’s office, according to a report by The Tennessean.
The scrutiny follows recent clashes between TSU leadership and Republican lawmakers regarding the board of trustees. Despite spending millions on audits that uncovered no fraud, significant leadership issues were identified. The state is now paying $450 per hour to Ed Stansen, who was appointed in late June.
Governor Bill Lee is seeking a review of “policies, procedures, protocols, fiscal records, capital expenditures, capital master planning, and corporate governance” from 2021 to the present. The review may also involve litigation to safeguard TSU’s interests.
In April, the university received a new board of trustees, which initially requested the investigation. Chair Dakasha Winter emphasized the importance of assessing the university’s current position to pave the way for progress.
Ed Stanton, a former U.S. attorney now practicing privately at the Butler Snow firm in Memphis, has been appointed by the state previously, including a review of the state’s lethal injection process and an oversight complaint at the Metro Nashville Police Department.
Governor Bill Lee remains committed to ensuring the prosperity of the state’s largest historically Black university. Lee and other Republican lawmakers ousted the school’s board of trustees due to mismanagement and enacted new legislation to establish an all-TSU alumni board.
Although the move to vacate the board of trustees was not met well by Tennessee State alumni, alumni president Charles Galbreath Jr. in exclusive comments to HBCU Pulse in March says that he and other alumni have faith in the eight new members as they are active members of the alumni community.
“They’re business leaders…in their own rights. I’ve seen their passion for Tennessee State University outside of their roles that they’ve now been appointed to. They have been voices for Tennessee State University. So I can tell you that the new board members are trusted within the TSU community. I can tell you that the work that they’ve done for years has been respected and valued within Tennessee State University.”
The board vacancy and rehire slowed down the presidential search after former president Glenda Glover announced her decade retirement. The presidential candidates were all chosen by the old board of trustees and the emergence of the new board forced another presidential search to be conducted. Now interim president Dr. Ronald Johnson was appointed in early June.
